Recommendations to the EU on the setting of fishing opportunities for 2022

NGO signatories of this document wish to present recommendations on the setting of fishing opportunities for 2022.

Every December, the fisheries ministers from all EU Member States meet to set the Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for the Northeast Atlantic and North Sea fish stocks for the following year. In the lead-up to the 2021 December Council meeting NGO have jointly sent their recommendations to EU ministers and the European Commission.

End overfishing and set TACs ensuring that the total catch does not exceed scientific advice and that the stock rebuilds as fast as possible.
Consider that fish stocks are also impacted by climate change and include an additional climate buffer when setting the TACs.
Make selective gear mandatory to reduce bycatch in mixed fisheries and increase control and monitoring to end illegal discarding.